Troubleshooting Networking Issues like a Ninja

As a networking Ninja, I'm sure you’re no stranger to the complex challenges of maintaining a reliable and efficient network. Whether you are the administrator of a small office network or a large enterprise network, issues will always be there. In this blog post, I want to guide you on troubleshooting them efficiently so you can get the network up to its best performance and return to your regular day-to-day activity.?

There are 7 steps to this:?

Step 1. Identify the problem?

To troubleshoot any issues, you must first understand and define the problem. This is a crucial step as if the problem is not identified correctly, then hours, days, or even months can be wasted focusing on the wrong problem.?

Your role is to gather information from users and identify symptoms by performing an initial assessment to determine the problem and its severity. ?

Step 2. Establish a theory of probable cause?

Before diving into the data and tools, take a moment to establish a theory of probable cause based on your initial assessment of the problem. This hypothesis will help you focus your troubleshooting efforts and prioritize the most likely cause of your problem while considering the symptoms, the network’s history, or any recent changes that might be related to the problem. This should serve as a starting point for your investigation.??

Step 3. Test the theory to determine the cause?

Once you have a theory, you should try to test it. If, by testing the theory, you establish that you correctly identified the problem, go ahead and determine the following steps to resolve the problem.?

If the theory you test establishes that you didn’t identify the problem correctly, you should reestablish a new theory or escalate to a senior ninja engineer.?

This testing can include different techniques like resetting hardware, updating software, or reconfiguring settings, however, make sure you document each step you take so you have a log of what was tried and what was changed. ?

Step 4. Establish a plan of action to resolve the problem and identify potential effects?

Once you correctly identify the problem, it is time to establish a battle plan. The plan should include the steps needed to address the root cause, as well as any potential side effects or risks associated with the proposed solution. Some important aspects to consider while making the battle plan are effectiveness, efficiency, impact, communication, and approval.?

The better the plan, the more efficient and controlled approach to resolving the network issue while minimizing the risk of unintended consequences and reducing the likelihood of recurring problems.?

Step 5. Implement the solution or escalate as necessary?

Taking that solid battle plan you prepared, it’s time to implement the solution. Depending on the issue’s complexity and your level of expertise, you can take it on your own or might need to escalate it to a higher level, such as a senior ninja engineer. ?

You can ensure a smooth resolution process and avoid further complications by being careful and not rushing while implementing the solution.?

Step 6. Verify full system functionality and, if applicable, implement preventive measures?

After finishing the implementation, it is essential to verify that the network issue has been resolved and that the entire system is functioning as expected. This can be done by monitoring the system, running tests against your network like stress, performance, or functionality tests (depending on the nature of the issue) or by gathering user feedback to ensure the problem has been dealt with.?

Step 7.? Document findings, actions and outcomes?

Record the steps you took, the root cause of the issue, and the solution you implemented.?

Thorough documentation is crucial for effective troubleshooting and can serve a variety of important purposes, such as promoting knowledge sharing, ensuring accountability, facilitating performance evolution, and providing valuable historical references. ?

Emphasizing the importance of documentation can ignite a passion within your team and organization, cultivating a culture that prioritizes continuous learning, improvement, and collaboration.?

Bonus step. Prevent future issues?with SliceUp

Use your new knowledge to proactively prevent similar issues from occurring in the future. This might involve updating networking policies, implementing networking tools, or providing additional training to your team.?

Talking about networking tools to prevent future issues, SliceUp comes to the rescue with their auto-remediation feature, and through the power of automation, it allows a user to create their own scripts and link the script to SliceUp’s log templates, so any scriptable problem can be fixed. ?

Some examples of routine issues include :

???? duplex mismatch,

???? port security,

???? cert expiration

which are some of the most common issues when it comes to networking.?With out-of-the-box integrations with ticketing services and scripting tools, SliceUp?automatically opens up a ticket when the issue is detected, links to a script by?leveraging the power of our automated parsing, and then execute the script. Trouble?tickets are automatically closed when the script execution is verified.?

With flexible user supervision, our system allows users to choose whether to approve?the fix each time an issue occurs or to let the system automatically handle the fix. This?flexibility gives users the confidence to choose the approach that best fits their needs,?providing greater control over their network environment.?

Conclusion?

There you have it, a road map that can transform any network incident into an exhilarating ninja adventure. By following these steps, you will be slicing through network issues like a true Ninja! Remember, even the most skilled Ninjas need practice, patience, and the right tools. ?

Contact us for a demo of our tool, and we will show you how you can identify and prevent networking issues before they occur.?